CAROL ANTOSIAK

After growing up (literally) in the shadow of Suburban Chicago's Brookfield Zoo with dreams of being a herpetologist, in 1967 I moved to New Orleans to escape the miserable Midwestern winters and attend H. Sophie Newcomb College for Women. Instead of studying reptiles, I received a degree in philosophy and was never the same again, but then it was the '60s.

After working for many years in the retail and wholesale record business (when music came on black vinyl), Maple Street hired me and I've been a bookseller here or there (but now back here) for the last 13 years.

 I come from a long line of gardeners and when I'm not selling books I'm at home digging up more and more of the backyard to make new flower beds for (this year) antique roses. My husband, Ace Foreign Car Mechanic Howard Darlington looks tolerantly upon my lawn-destroying frenzies, and my violin-playing daughter Quinn Darlington is happy as long as we have time to rent '40s movies and Avengers reruns in between trips to P.J.'s.  

Carter Beats the Devil by Glen David Gold (fiction)
This historically based novel about a magician during the Golden Age of Magic features a disappearing elephant, a dead president, a guest appearance by Houdini and the invention of television. I loved the characters, especially Charles Carter: the famous magician who doesn't saw ladies in half in his act because his mother disapproves. (She's into psychology and considers the trick misogynistic.)

Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now by Maya Angelou
In this moving collection of short pieces, Maya Angelou inspires us with a distillation of the wisdom she's gained over her lifetime.

The Easy Way Out by Stephen McCauley (fiction)
This engaging, funny novel about the self-delusions of a quirky set of characters weaseling into and out of relationships is shrewdly told with empathy and insight.

Amazon by Barbara Walker
What we accept as a normal lifestyle baffles a woman warrior transported through time to the present in this eye-opening and witty feminist fable.

Passalong Plants by Steve Bender and Felder Rushing (gardening)
The authors lovingly and humorously describe 117 plants that traditionally have been "passed along" from gardener to gardener. Including color photographs, mail-order sources, and a chapter on yard art, it's the perfect gift for any Southern gardener.

Sacred Hunger by Barry Unsworth (fiction)
The author of this superbly crafted Booker Prize-winning novel about the 18th century slave trade successfully combines suspenseful storytelling with a serious moral message about power and greed.

Nobody's Fool by Richard Russo (fiction)
A close and loving look at the lives of some all-too-human characters in a has-been sort of town in upstate New York. This is a funny, intelligent, and compassionate novel.

The Southern Gardener's Book of Lists by Lois Trigg Chaplin
The more than 200 lists of plants for specific uses in the Southern garden will help end costly plant-choice mistakes. The featured tips and anecdotes from horticulturists and landscape designers from across the South are helpful and fun to read. Two other good Southern gardening books are: Garden Bulbs for the South by Scott Ogden and Orchids for the South by Jack Kramer.

Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand (history)
You don't have to like horses or racing to love this compelling true story of an underdog racehorse that becomes a champion as well as a cultural icon of the '30s. The stories of Seabiscuit's self-made millionaire owner, enigmatic trainer, and hapless jockey read like fiction, and an era when 40 million people tuned in to listen to a horse race is brought to life as well.

 

Reasonable Creatures: Essays on Women and Feminism by Katha Pollitt
This book's title comes from Mary Wollstonecraft writing in A Vindication of the Rights of Women: "I wish to see women neither heroines nor brutes, but reasonable creatures." Katha Pollitt, some of whose essays from The Nation, The New Yorker, and The New York Times are gathered here, is clear-headed, funny, intelligent, and just a most reasonable creature. Her arguments are fresh, logical, and a joy to read.

Wild Life by Molly Gloss
Wild Life, a historical novel, is set in the 1900s and is the story of a freethinking woman's adventure book writer who becomes lost, and then found, in the wilderness of the Pacific Northwest. This beautifully written and haunting book won the 2002 Seattle Public Library "If All Seattle Could Read the Same Book" contest.

500 Great Books by Women: A Reader's Guide by Erica Bauermeister, Jesse Larsen, and Holly Smith
You'll never run out of good ideas for yourself or your book group with this guide to books written by women, which features annotated entries organized by theme, along with seven cross-referenced indexes. Other titles that will keep you reading forever include: Reader's Companion: A Book Lover's Guide to the Most Important Books in Every Field of Knowledge, As Chosen by the Experts by Fred Bratman and Scott Lewis; What to Read: The Essential Guide for Reading Group Members & Other Book Lovers by Mickey Pearlman; The Book Group Guide: A Thoughtful Guide to Forming and Enjoying a Stimulating Book Discussion Group by Ellen Slezak; and The Reading Group Handbook by Rachel Jacobsohn.

Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman by Richard Feynman (science/biography)
Reading the Nobel Prize-winning physicist's account of his zany exploits has made me curious to read James Gleick's biography, Genius: The Life and Science of Richard Feynman, to get the whole scoop on this strange character.

The Emerald Lizard by Chris Wiltz (mystery)
Mysteries set in Westwego don't come around often enough.

A Case of Curiosities by Allen Kurzweil (fiction)
This cleverly contrived first novel about the adventures of a young eighteenth century mechanical genius is playfully and ingeniously stuffed with curious bits of European history, watchmaker's lore, intricate inventions, and odd characters. I'm looking forward to whatever the author does next.

No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith (fiction/mystery)
This is my No. 1 favorite! Precious Ramotswe opens the only detective agency in Botswana run by women and solves cases with intuition, common sense, and a copy of the Principles of Private Detection. The characters are portrayed with affection and respect, the tone is serious and amusing at the same time, and the African landscape is unforgettable. If you like this award-winning book as much as I do, you can get the two sequels, Tears of the Giraffe and Morality for Beautiful Girls.